So they’re all amazingly fast and they all have insane performance figures. But take a gander and the latest in car technology; the Quant E-Sports Limousine. Made by a company called nanoFlowCell based in Lichtenstein (how awesome is that?!), the Quant E uses a whole new type of technology. The company has managed to come up with an alternative fuel that nobody has thought of before.

What makes up 75% of the Earth? Saltwater. nanoFlowCell has managed to obtain electricity from a three tank system that uses saltwater with positively charged electrolytes in one tank and negatively charged ones in another, and through mixing them electricity shoots out. I won’t say I completely understand the nuances and intricate specifics of how this system works, but I can tell you IT WORKS. 910hp for a EV is crazy as well as having four motors, but you’ve seen the Rimac Concept One before as well as the SLS Electric. But the torque this thing makes is unlike any other. 8,552 ft/lbs. That’s not a typo. 8,552 ft/lbs of torque. That makes roughly 2,100 ft.lbs per electric motor. One wheel of this car makes twice the amount of torque of a Bugatti Veyron. Just let that sink in. Tires are probably shredded instantaneously. Good thing it’s four wheel drive.

]]>https://autokraft.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/pic-of-the-week-mclaren-12c-spider/feed/0benggieImage4 Series Gran Coupe: Names and Nicheshttps://autokraft.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/4-series-gran-coupe-names-and-niches/
https://autokraft.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/4-series-gran-coupe-names-and-niches/#respondSun, 02 Feb 2014 16:29:16 +0000http://autokraft.wordpress.com/?p=2213Continue reading →]]>Okay, today in the car world there are so many different types of car. Coupes, cabriolets, sedans, SUVs you may know about, but what about laundrolets, four-door coupes, or SACs? Laundrolets were really only made by the late Maybach company. It was a convertible limousine that the roof only folded down at the very back. Four-door coupes are a relatively new niche formed by Mercedes copied by Audi and BMW. Basically it’s a sedan with a swoopier roof for added style. They do look quite splendid, but at the price of practicality. SAC or sport activity coupe is a niche created by BMW that is basically a coupe version of a SUV. It’s practicality is drastically reduced but the overall style is improved. The BMW dominates the niche (of which there are few competitors) with their X6. With so many crazy niches that are always being filled car enthusiasts cry out to auto manufacturers to just stop. I can definitely say in BMWs case this is especially true since today, they released the 4 Series Gran Coupe. So you thought that the 6 Series GC was confusing (a sedan based on a coupe based on a sedan architecture). Well BMW seemingly has thrown sense out the window and broken off from their “coupes are even numbers and 4-doors are odd numbers” naming scheme with this new one. It is not only a sedan version of a coupe based on the 3 Series sedan, but it’s also a hatchback. Think about it for a second though, BMW has said coupes are even numbers. What if they are talking about the lines rather than the number of doors? The 4 GC is a coupe in style terms so maybe it still makes sense. I know that BMW has all these models and even the GT 3 and 5 Series, but I feel like they have something for everyone now. The GTs are the opposite of form over function, but for some people that’s good. With this new 4 GC I think they hit a sweet spot. They haven’t just restyled the 3 series sedan, but with the new lift-gate, made it more practical. I can’t wait to see an M version. The front fascia of the regular 4 Series never got me excited but this car’s body with an M4 face, what a dream! Not to mention it’s screaming six.

One Hundred. It’s a number with multiple associations. That’s how old Aston Martin is this year, that’s about how many thousand dollars it would take to buy a new SL-Class Mercedes, and now it’s the number of total Koenigseggs produced.

Started in 1994, Koenigsegg is the brainchild of Scandinavian, Christian von Koenigsegg. He took money from his exporting business, followed his dream of making his own cars, took his family’s coat of arms for his logo, and founded the car corporation that bears his name. With the wealth he had acquired from other business ventures, he had free reign with his perception of the ultimate car. From the get go Christian wanted his cars to stand out; the low stance, the lines, the trademark swivel doors, Christian would not put his name to anything that wouldn’t be perfect.

With an understated style and a name that’s a mouthful, Koenigseggs bring a presence that commands respect on the road. Just the lower ground clearance and the aggressive headlights instill humbleness in even the most hard-hearted. While they’re more on the stealthy side as opposed to the flamboyant Pagani Huayra, what lies underneath the paint is more exotic than you might figure. Carbon-fiber and Kevlar body panels are not in the least cheap to make or replace, but Koenigsegg’s commitment to perfection means they could be the only materials deemed worthy of use in their cars. Even the engine has to be the best it can be, and that means no partnerships or engine deals. All their engines are made in-house. The Agera S can get an astonishing 16mpg (not bad for a 242mph car) when you’re not fully on the gas. It also can run on bio-fuels, pretty nifty right?

Christian’s supercars have grown into some of the most powerful in the world, contending for the land speed record for production vehicles against the likes of such cars as the fabled Bugatti Veyron. The styling of his cars is aggressive yet minimalistic. It perfectly portrays the power beneath the clamshell at the car’s back. With 1,000+ horsepower you wouldn’t expect them to be tame, but Koenigseggs are easier to handle than a variety of things; the Titanic for instance, or a sixteen-wheeler in the snow, or maybe the Saturn Five rocket.

Which brings me to the new Hundra (Swedish for Hundred). One hundred can be quite a small number, especially when talking about production figures. Like the other 99 Koenigseggs in existence,it’s not what you’d call soft. With a 5.0L V8 making 1,100hp you’d expect its handling to be as fluid as the movement of someone being tased. Even the Stig from Top Gear couldn’t handle the amount of power being directed through the rear wheels of a CCX with a “puny” 800hp. So now I find myself circling back to a thought similar to the one in the Exige S post I recently wrote; why bother making a car so expensive, so powerful that you can’t handle it (physically or financially)? I understand that the super-rich get board and are always looking for some new toys but seriously, 24-carat gold inlays on the chassis, 1,100hp? Doesn’t all seem… excessive? I’m all for high-tech hypercars because they drive (excuse the pun) automotive technology to the limit. This is the bleeding edge. And there happens to be a lot of blood, seeing as people need $4.2 million for this car. It’s uniqueness (since there’s only one) sort of justifies the price, seeing as a Ferrari 250 GTO will sell for $45 million these days and there’s more than one of them (36 to be exact) yet it doesn’t even have power steering, or ABS, or an airbag, or a radio, or in some cases a passenger seat.

Today, is like most days. Like days past and present, there is always someone out there pushing the boundaries and doing it for a fair amount of money. Like I said, I have expensive taste and I like quality, but when people are selling cars for more than most people will make in their entire lives, it gets kind of tedious. Take a look at an older post here, on the Lykan Hypersport by W Motors. Around $4 million, diamond encrusted headlights, gold stitched seats. It’s kind of sickening.

So many cars these days compromise performance and handling for creature comforts. The 2013 BMW M5 is a case and point. While I love the thing to death, it weighs nearly two tons because it has this and that put in. Sound deadening, active seats, TV screens, iDrive, and loads of other luxuries. That’s all fine and dandy for someone willing to have a plush übersedan rather than a true M5, but they need to make a different line of vehicles for that. Don’t name it an M5 and don’t put the M styling cues on, just extend that to the 560i or something, I mean the 760li tops the seven series range. Leave the M5 name for something that means business in terms of performance and lightness, for something that’s a true driver’s car.

Nowadays, it is hard to find a car lighter than 3,000 lbs. The lightest Ferrari for example weighs in somewhere around 3,100 lbs (LaFerrari). There’s one car that is still performance oriented, that retains the feel of cars of yore. It’s name, the Lotus Exige S. This car weighs only 2,381 lbs, about 300 up from the previous generation, but it’s still lighter than 95% of cars today. They pretty much put nothing in you don’t want; it doesn’t even have power steering. It gets from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 170mph, not bad for a car with only 350hp and 295 ft/lbs of torque. To me, it’s a car leaning more track day weapon then road car. It’s more like a BAC Mono with a roof and actual body panels. That said, the suspension itself isn’t all that harsh as with many track cars, which is nice because the car is actually usable on roads, not just the track.

Its weight isn’t the only nicety in the Exige S’s arsenal of drivability; it has a nifty little switch with four settings: Tour (for regular driving, everything is switched on TCS and all), Sport (which dials up everything), Race, and Everything Off mode. Now what is the difference between Race and Everything Off you might be asking. Well you see, in Race mode the car uses a system which can detect the grip levels of where you’re driving (normally a track), and after a few laps you’ll be able to keep your foot planted in the corners and just drive. It’ll figure out the throttle and everything for you (minor adjustments and awareness still required)! It’s pretty cool actually, but you still have to drive it; it won’t do that for you. Of course Everything Off mode just let’s you have fun without any electronic trickery. Just you and the car.

So I guess what this car really exemplifies is the fact that throughout all this environmental adversity for car enthusiasts, there can still be a driver’s car. It’s not very sensible or practical; trunk space is almost nonexistent, not to mention getting in and out of the car. But to the select few who throw practicality into the wind, for performance’s sake, it is a magnificent machine. Really, it’s what car enthusiasts hope to experience, and they’ll have to keep hoping with the Exige’s $88,000 price tag. But it’s totally worth it, with the looks and the noise and the engine and the driving experience and… just everything about it seems right.

I love cars, and this is the reason. Everyday I can go out and find something new, something cool. Whether it’s a new car technology or a new car or both, there’s always something interesting going on. It’s cars like these that make me an enthusiast. You don’t have to be a millionaire to own one of these, just some time and savings along with hard work. It makes me wonder why they make cars like the Veyron, it’s the fastest there is but I’d be happier driving something like the Lotus which is light and fun. In a Veyron, corners are just another obstacle it has to overcome, for the Lotus they’re where it lives.

]]>https://autokraft.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/pic-of-the-week-lamborghini-countach/feed/0benggieImageBMW M4: A High Caliber Weaponhttps://autokraft.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/bmw-m4-a-high-caliber-weapon/
https://autokraft.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/bmw-m4-a-high-caliber-weapon/#respondThu, 12 Dec 2013 21:23:44 +0000http://autokraft.wordpress.com/?p=1930Continue reading →]]>When you talk about the M3, you can’t start with the current one, you can’t talk about the last generation, you have to start from the beginning:

The year was 1985, with BMW ramping up their racing, they would soon stumble across one of the most competitive niches to date. They created the M3 with intentions of just qualifying for the races, they needed 5,000 road versions of their ultimate racing machine to be eligible. Later in 1991 they would sell over 17,000 M3’s. Released at the 1985 Frankfurt Auto Show, the four banger, rear wheel drive maniac known as the E30 was given to the world. With a rear wing, revised suspension kinematics, and a four cylinder good for 200 horses the M3 made a pretty solid statement about your need for speed. The 2.3L straight 4 (internally known as the S14) and all 200 horsepower were good enough to carry the 1200kg (2,640lbs) from a standstill to 60 in about 6.6 seconds. It was no slow poke by any means.

The next iteration in 1992, the E36, would take the driving performance of its forbear and improve upon it. For their next trick, they’d up the ante with a 3.0L straight six, now good for 282 ponies. The 0-60 was now down to 6 seconds dead. BMW was owning their niche, all the other companies just lagged behind. Of course that is open to debate, but with such an improvement on something already made to perfection, BMW didn’t leave much room for the competition.

Next perhaps the most famous, considered most likely to be the best of the M3’s, was the E46. Revealed in 2000, the E46 took the M3 name to new heights. The straight six of yore was replaced with a new six at 3.2L which made 343 horsepower now. It was up by sixty, which in today’s world is nothing, but back then it made all the difference, especially seeing as it was only 1549kg (3,415lbs). Car and Driver said that the 2006 M3 was their favorite sports car of all time, something not to be taken lightly. With all this greatness it was hard for BMW to know where to go next with their dream machine…

And thus the E92 was born. It was given a V8. A naturally aspirated V8. A 4.0L naturally aspirated V8 good for 414hp at 8,300 rpm! A naturally aspirated V8, in an M3! Surely that had to be the highlight, surely it couldn’t be any better… unless you included the fact it could still be bought with a manual, and that it weighed 1580kg (3,483 lbs), with a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds as tested by Car and Driver. Could it get any better?!

And so in September of 2013, production of the E92 was discontinued, a deep melancholy now swept throughout the purists and followers of M around the world. The new M4 concept came out soon after and with it outrage. How could it be turbocharged?! How can they change the name?! No one could have understood how wrong they would be. The official details have been released today and with it many mouths have been shut, and then opened again when they would fall to the floor in complete and utter awe. The new M4 will be lighter than its predecessor, even as light as the E36, three generations back! Sure it only has 16hp more than the old V8, but it has got 406 ft/lbs of torque, up by 111 ft/lbs of torque! It’ll get 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. It even has a button designated “Smokey Burn-Out”, tell me that doesn’t scream insane. Besides, the E92 was the one that was supposed to be the M4, and the three series coupes would from then on be the 4 series. As for the turbocharging, purists were determined to hate the 1m on that account, but it became their favorite of the M’s. BMW is actually known now for being able to hide the turbo lag, so what’s the big deal? Sure this car might get under the skin of purists but I say that if there has been one constant in BMW’s history, it’s not natural aspiration, not rear-wheel drive, not even good looks, but just pure innovation and the ability to reinvent itself. Maybe they are departing from what they have had success with, what people want, but I believe without a doubt that BMW will adapt and that when it’s all over they’ll have people saying, “You can’t NOT turbocharge a BMW!” or “You can’t call it anything but an M4!”

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]]>https://autokraft.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/bmw-m4-a-high-caliber-weapon/feed/0benggieBMW M4SLS Black Series: AMG’s Beast is Back in Blackhttps://autokraft.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/sls-black-series-amgs-beast-is-back-in-black/
https://autokraft.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/sls-black-series-amgs-beast-is-back-in-black/#respondSat, 19 Oct 2013 22:29:29 +0000http://autokraft.wordpress.com/?p=1863Continue reading →]]>There are cars our there that go for numbers (Koenigsegg Agera), there are those who aim to hook buyers on their looks (Aston Vanquish), there are cars built for fun driving (Toyota GT86), but very few that embody all of these characteristics. The one I’d say is the best in all those aspects is SLS Black Series. It makes for a visceral, raw driving experience, yet calm and well-mannered as any track car could manage on the street. It can be as fast and precise like obsidian scalpel it is, cutting through corners and touching the apexes in a way only a handful of cars could hope to. It’s essentially a SLS GT3 for the road, so it’s safe to assume that there’s been some revisions. The SLS was an all AMG operation, but the black is a performance version of the most performance oriented Benz. It’s lost 154lbs (which is a lot considering that the SLS GT was pretty light) and gained 40 or so horsepower (622hp now). It’s down on torque from 478 ft/lbs to about 464 ft/lbs just a bit, but that doesn’t mean it’s slower. It gets from 0-60 in 3.1 seconds (as tested by Motor Trend) and goes on to a claimed 196mph. It’s only because of it’s final drive ratio that it doesn’t go on to 200mph.

The best part of the car in my mind has to be the sound. The 6.2L naturally aspirated V-8 is a nice engine and the SLS GT has a great sound, but with a new titanium exhaust system and the power bump, the thunderous noise from underneath the hood could be compared to that of an erupting volcano or an estimate of what the Big-Bang sounded like. It is unlike anything else, when you shift it feels like you just got dropkicked by angry scotsman who’s wearing steel-toe boots. Beyond the analogies though, this car is really just awesome. The aggressive styling, the pumped up power, the noise, the history, the exclusivity. There’s so much to love, even if the its heart is black.